Full Text

FORTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
OP THE PROVINCE OP
BRITISH COLUMBIA
1918-19
BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
WITH APPENDICES
PRINTED BY
AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.
VICTORIA, B.C.:
Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty,
1020. To Colonel the Honourable Edward Gawler Prior, «
A Member of the King's Privy Council for Canada,
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia.
May it please Your Honour:
I beg herewith respectfully to present the Forty-eighth Annual Report on the
Public Schools of the Province.
j. d. Maclean,
Minister of Education.
December 31st, 1919. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Paht I.
Page.
Total Enrolment in High and Public Schools 9
Number of Divisions, Enrolment, etc., in each of the High Schools 10
Number of Divisions, Enrolment, etc., in each of the Graded City Schools 11
Number of Schools, Enrolment, etc., in each of the Rural Municipalities 13
Total Enrolment in the Rural and Assisted Schools 13
Expenditure for Education 14
Cost to Provincial Government of each Pupil on Enrolment and on Average Daily Attendance
during the Past Ten Years 15
Average Salary paid Teachers 16
Number of Teachers employed in the Various Electoral Districts 17
Inspectors' Reports—
High Schools 18
Public Schools 21
Municipal Inspectors' Reports—
Vancouver 37
Victoria 40
Reports on Normal Schools—
Vancouver 45
Victoria 46
Report of the Director of Elementary Agricultural Education 47
Summer School for Teachers 67
Report of the Organizer of Technical Education , 78
Report of the Officer in Charge of the Free Text-book Branch 82
The Strathcona Trust 87
Teachers' Examination Results 92
Part II.
Statistical Returns—
High Schools ii.
Graded City Schools xii.
Rural Municipality Schools xliv.
Rural and Assisted Schools lxii.
Names of Schools, Number of Teachers, etc., in each of the Electoral Districts Ixxxii.
Part III.
High School Examination—
Names of Medal-winners Ixxxvii.
Number of Successful Candidates at each Centre Ixxxvii.
High School Entrance Examination—
Names of Medal-winners Ixxxix.
Number of Successful Candidates at each Centre Ixxxix.
High School Entrance Examination Papers xcvi.
High School Examination Papers—
Third-class Certificate (Non-professional) ' civ.
Third-year Course, Commercial cxvi.
Intermediate Grade cxxxvii.
Third-year Course, Technical cxxxi.
Senior Grade cxlviii.
Senior Academic Grade clx.
University Matriculation (Junior) clxxi.
University Matriculation (Senior) clxxxvii. PART I.
GENERAL REPORT. REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION.
19181919.
Education Office,
Victoria, B.C., December, 1919.
To the Honourable J. D. MacLean, M.D., CM.,
Minister of Education.
Sik,—I beg to submit the Forty-eighth Annual Report of the Public Schools of British
Columbia for the school-year ending June 30th, 1919.
The total enrolment in all the schools was 72,006. The number of boys was 35,954, and of
girls 36,052. The average actual daily attendance was 56,692.3S. The percentage of regular
attendance was 78.73. The total number of teachers employed was 2,332. Of this number, 197
were employed in the high schools, 957 in the city graded schools, 549 in the rural municipality
schools, and 629 in the rural and assisted schools. A 10
Public Schools Report.
1919
HIGH SCHOOLS.
The enrolment in the high schools during the year was 5,806. Of this number, 2,392 were
boys and 3,414 were girls.
The number of divisions, the total enrolment, the average actual daily attendance, and the
percentage of regular attendance in each high school are shown in the following table:—■
High Schools.
Agassiz
Armstrong ..
Bridgeport . .
Chilliwack.. .
Cranbrook...
Cumberland .
Duncan
Enderby ....
Esquimalt...
Fernie
Golden
Grand Forks .
Greenwood.
Kamloops ...
Kaslo
Kelowna
Ladner
Ladysmith . .
Langley ....
Matsqui
Mission .
Nanaimo
Nelson
New Westminster.
Oak Bay
Peachland
Penticton
Point Grey
Port Alberni
Prince George....
Prince Rupert....
Revelstoke
Rossland
Salmon Arm......
Summerland
Trail
Vancouver :
Britannia
King Edward.
King George..
Kitsilano ....
Cecil Rhodes .
Vancouver, North
Vancouver, South.
Vernon
Victoria
No. of
Total
Divisions.
Enrolment.
1
26 '
2
43
2
32
4
118
2
56
2
43
2
56
1
30
3
51
2
56
1
13
3
67
1
16
4
93
2
36
2
70
2
33
2
56
2
42
2
14
2
46
4
114
6
185
10
352
4
94
1
13
2
51
6
170
1
14
1
15
2
44
4
90
3
46
2
36
2
44
2
52
15
517
27
912
11
405
3
105
6
205
5
149
9
310
3
74
24
812
Average
Actual Daily
Attendance.
18.76
35.65
26.07
97.94
49.99
35.11
43.78
23.67
42.77
51.10
9.27
55.49
14.26
78.36
32.45
53.57
28.46
49.42
37.25
13.55
35.11
89.02
155.21
280.89
73.80
8.44
39.62
139.30
9.56
9.67
38.02
86.48
38.56
33 34
35.10
39.77
431.14
734.77
329.05
82.89
155.36
105.26
246.11
53.15
612.47
Percentage
of Regular
Attendance.
72.15
82.90
81.47
83.00
89.26
81.65
78.18
7S.90
83.86
91.25
71.31
82.82
89.12
84.26
90.14
76.53
86.24
88.25
88.69
96.78
76.32
78.09
83.89
79.79
78.51
64.92
77.69
81.94
68.29
64.46
86.41
96.09
83.83
92.61
79.77
76.48
83.39
80.56
81.25
78.94
75.78
70.64
79.39
71.82
75.42 10 Geo. 5
Public Schools Keport.
A 11
CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The enrolment in the city public schools was 35,090, and the average actual daily attendance
28,462.01. The number of boys enrolled was 17,693; of girls, 17,397.
The number of divisions, the total enrolment, the average actual daily attendance, and the
percentage of regular attendance in each city public school are shown in the following table:—
Schools.
Number
of
Divisions.
Total
Enrolment.
Average
Actual Daily
Attendance.
Percentage of
Regular
Attendance.
2
7
9
3
9
1
2
10
6
4
22
9
3
13
4
11
11
7
4
18
3
17
12
S
9
9
2
11
9
5
3
4
2
6
5
15
7
8
1
11
3
1
2
12
2
2
78
265
307
140
414
19
74
413
194
147
855
388
119
528
176
412
382
277
156
771
157
666
416
308
330
389
66
426
336
133
131
136
73
173
197
582
273 .
288
43
468
114
37
67
472
41
48
59.29
204.81
258.22
94.77
336.64
14.08
57.86
348.00
162.30
109.91
743.47
315.05
93.99
429.64
143.87
330.99
326.98
215.43
128.95
609.37
125.60
540.50
356.13
249.49
276.21
296.40
50.41
328.39
294.23
125.79
93.18
119.64
61.75
140.18
125.61
488.83
234.91
261.82
36.76
411.11
99.42
32.17
50.83
371.71
27.57
40.07
76.01
77.28
Chilliwack
Cranbrook :
84.11
67.69
81.31
South Ward
74.10
78.19
84.26
Enderby
83.66
74.77
86.95
81.19
78.98
Kaslo
81.37
81.74
80.34
85.59
Merritt
Nanaimo :
Middle Ward
Quennell
South Ward
77.77
82.66
79.04
80.00
81.16
New Westminster :
F. W. Howay
85.61
81.00
83.70
Richard McBride
76.19
76.38
77.09
87.57
94.57
71.13
Port Coquitlam :
87.97
Port Moody
84.58
81.03
63.76
Revelstoke:
Rossland :
83.99
86.05
90.91
85.49
87.84
87.21
Sandon
86.95
Trail :
75.87
78.75
Smelter Hill
67.24
East
83.48 A 12
Public Schools Eeport.
1919
CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—Concluded.
Schools.
Vancouver :
Aberdeen
Alexandra
Bayview ..
Beaconsfield
Central
Children's Home.......
Dawson
Charles Dickens
Fairview
Franklin
Simon Fraser
General Gordon
Grandview
Hastings
Henry Hudson
Kitsilano
Livingstone
Model
Mount Pleasant
Macdonald...
Lord Nelson
Florence Nightingale . ..
Cecil Rhodes
Lord Roberts
Laura Secord
Seymour
Strathcona
Lord Tennyson
School for the Blind
School for the Deaf
Vancouver, North :
Lonsdale
Queen Mary
Ridgeway
Vernon
Victoria :
Bank Street
Beacon Hill
Boys' Central ...
Burnside
Cook Street
Sir James Douglas
Fernwood
Girls' Central
George Jay
Margaret Jenkins
King's Road
Kingston Street
North Ward
Oaklands
Quadra Street
South Park
Spring Ridge
West
Child Study Laboratory.
Number
of
Divisions.
10
16
8
6
20
4
26
8
15
6
16
9
13
12
14
11
10
J3
"17
11
16
17
10
25
10
16
20
15
1
5
10
10
15
4
4
12
6
1
12
2
13
11
7
3
5
10
11
8
10
5
10
1
Total
Enrolment.
467
606
331
252
980
103
1,011
310
585
219
626
426
545
506
587
463
402
528
696
438
691
750
443
1,028
404
728
822
635
7
40
321
395
381
610
170
157
439
242
33
508
74
514
464
241
152
232
368
405
263
391
210
388
18
Average
Actual Daily
Attendance.
327.27
502.31
271.13
199.50
600.81
97.24
800.99
263.78
472.26
193.13
520.88
330.66
477.10
427.54
466.18
392.70
316.34
430.65
582.35
371.78
572.29
612.96
349.93
815.32
340.70
592.90
680.86
509.09
5.96
27.46
267.28
323.59
319.58
482.53
145.95
119.03
349.88
192.65
28.61
405.42
60.09
402.46
376.71
212.84
114.03
174.43
292.52
355.19
243.14
308.16
178.38
322.30
12.84
Percentage of
Regular
Attendance.
70.08
82.89
81.91
79.16
61.30
94.40
79.22
85.09
80.73
S8.19
83.20
77.62
87.54
84.49
79.42
84.81
78.69
81.56
83.67
84.88
82.82
81.72
78.99
79.31
84.33
81.44
82.83
80.17
85.14
68.65
83.26
81.92
83.88
79.10
85.85
75.81
79.69
79.60
86.69
79.80
81.20
78.29
81.18
88.21
75.02
75.18
79.48
87.70
92.44
78.81
84.94
83.06
71.33 10 Geo. 5
Public Schools Report.
A 13
RURAL MUNICIPALITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The enrolment in the rural municipality public schools during the year was 17,869, and the
average actual daily attendance was 14,084.32. The number of boys enrolled was 9,036; of
girls, 8,833.
The following table gives the names of the several municipalities, the number of schools in
each, the number of divisions, the total enrolment, and the average actual daily attendance:—
Municipality.
Burnaby
Chilliwack
Coldstream
Coquitlam
Cowichan, North.
Delta
Esquimalt
Kent
Langley
Maple Ridge
Matsqui
Mission
Oak Bay
Peachland
Penticton
Pitt Meadows....
Point Grey
Richmond
Saanich .
Salmon Arm ....
Spallumcheen ....
Sumas
Summerland. ...
Surrey
Vancouver, North
Vancouver, South
Vancouver, West
Number
of
Schools.
15
14
2
5
5
11
1
4
14
9
10
8
2
2
2
2
6
6
15
5
2
18
5
14
2
Number
of
Divisions.
45
25
2
7
6
15
15
6
20
16
16
13
13
4
12
2
34
14
47
7
8
6
8
25
14
136
6
Total
Enrolment.
1,797
697
59
134
170
418
573
190
664
447
377
362
493
99
448
53
1,326
479
1,584
214
156
130
244
677
475
5,388
215
Average
Actual Daily
Attendance.
1,405.75
510.95
46.04
93.94
121.58
314.63
443.51
143.62
462.40
324.46
271.02
259.89
393.19
95.19
367.29
39.82
1,103.74
357.67
1,218.95
153 65
114.49
90.32
193.70
455.03
370.50
4,579.47
153.61
RURAL AND ASSISTED SCHOOLS.
The total enrolment in these schools for the year was 13,241. Of this number, 6,833 were
boys and 6,408 were girls. A 14 Public Schools Eeport. 1919
EXPENDITURE FOR EDUCATION, 1918-1919.
Education Office:
Salaries $12,964 15
Office supplies, etc 5,205 71
Travelling expenses 570 39
i . $ 18,740 25
Free Text-book Branch:.
Salaries $ 5,563 85
Office supplies, etc 2,282 00
Books, maps, globes, etc 68,225 16
76,071 01
Agricultural Education:
Salaries $15,317 80
Office supplies, etc. 429 29
Travelling expenses 1,158 53
Grants in aid of agricultural education 9,251 38
Summer school 329 79
■ 26,486 79
Industrial Education:
Salaries $ 2,940 00
Office supplies, etc 414 32
Travelling expenses 1,059 48
Night-schools 9,010 90
Grants in aid of industrial education 1,219 66
Summer schools 88 94
=- 14,733 30
Inspection of Schools:
Salaries $28,639 00
Office supplies, etc 1,110 71
Travelling expenses 11,363 44
Office-rents 50 00
41,163 15
Provincial Normal School, Vancouver:
Salaries $19,208 10
Office supplies, etc 2,096 01
Travelling expenses 9 25
Fuel, water, light 1,365 09
Maintenance and repairs of buildings, grounds, etc 1,166 18
Mileage re travelling expenses of students 3,133 66
Allowance to teachers assisting Normal students 1,195 00
28,173 29
Provincial Normal School, Victoria:
Salaries $17,360
Office supplies, etc ,, 1,899 87
Fuel, water, light 2,363 99
Maintenance and repairs of buildings, grounds, etc 1,195 57
Mileage re travelling expenses of students 5,350 64
Allowance to teachers assisting Normal students 437 00
28,607 07
Deaf, Dumb, and Blind:
Tuition, maintenance, fares, etc 14,624 36
Per capita grant to cities 535,371 85
Per capita grant to municipalities 358,833 35
Carried forward $1,142,804 42 10 Geo. 5
Public Schools Report.
A 15
Brought forward $1,142,804 42
Per capita grant to rural school districts 123,535 80
Salaries of teachers in assisted schools 32S.292 90
Salaries of teachers in Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Belt 74,538 30
Grants to libraries 208 93
Grants in aid of manual-training equipment 2,446 04
Erection, maintenance, and repairs of school buildings 96,706 43
Examination of teachers and Entrance Examination 15,707 61
Conveying children to central schools 3,405 66
Grants and rents to school districts, etc 3,507 38
Amount expended by cities, municipalities, rural and assisted school districts.. 2,437,566 45
Grand total cost of education $4,228,719 92
The following table shows the cost to the Provincial Government of each pupil on enrolment
and on average daily attendance during the past ten years:—
Year.
Cost of each
Pupil on
Enrolment.
Cost of each
Pupil on
Average Actua 1
Daily
Attendance.
1909-10 .
$15 36
15 86
17 47
17 91
20 04
21 78
22 50
22 47
22 64
24 88
$21 78
1910-11
1911-12
• 22 25
23 32
1912-13
23 85
1913-14
25 27
1914-15
1915-16
26 65
28 56
1916-17
27 83
1917-18.
27 93
1918-19
31 59
The gradual growth of the schools, as well as the cost to the Provincial Government of
maintaining the same, is shown by the record of attendance and expenditure given in the
following exhibit:—
Year.
Number
of School
Districts.
Aggregate
Enrolment.
Average
Actual Daily
Attendance.
Percentage
of
Attendance.
Expenditure
for Education
proper.
1872-73 ;
25
45
59
104
169
213
268
189
*359
*374
*410
*419
*432
575
582
1,028
2,198
2,693
6,372
11,496
17,648
24,499
33,314
57,608
62,263
64,624
64,570
65,118
67,516
72,006
575
1,395.50
1,383.00
3,093.46
7,111.40
11,055.65
16,357.43
23,195.27
43,274.12
49,377.70
52,821.72
50,870.25
52,577.12
54,746.76
56,692.38
55.93
63.49
51.36
48.54
61.85
62.64
66.76
69.62
75.12
79.30
81.73
78.78
80.74
81.09
78.73
$36,763 77
43,334 01
1877-78
1887-88
50,850 63
99,902 04
1892-93
190,558 33
1897-98
1902-03
247,756 37
397,003 46
1907-08
464,473 78
1,032,038 60
1912-13
1913-14
1914-15
1915-16
1916-17
1,248,163 44
1,407,990 32-
1,452,999 99
1,463,405 78
1,529,058 93
1917-18
1918-19
1,791,153 47
* Including assisted schools with denned boundaries. A 16
Public Schools Eeport.
1919
The following table shows the average salaries paid to the teachers during the year in the
high schools throughout the Province, in the city public schools, in the rural municipality public
schools, and in rural and assisted schools:—
Average Salaries.
Male.
Female.
1
Academic
Certificate.
First-
class
Certificate.
Second-
class
Certificate.
Third-
class
Certificate.
Academic
Certificate.
First-
class
Certificate.
Second-
class
Certificate.
Third-
class
Certifi-
.cate.
High schools
City public schools
Rural municipality schools
Rural and assisted schools
$2,192
1,975
1,543
1,061
$1,619
1,159
959
1,055
$2,032
1,777
1,066
$1,466
1,424
1,022
$1,289
940
995
$1,171
1,004
964
$1,055
960
950
$959
879
924
The average salary paid to the teachers of the Province (male and female) was $1,162.33. 10 Geo. 5
Public Schools Report.
A 17
The following is a list in tabular form of the number of teachers employed during 1918-19
in the various electoral districts of the Province; the number of male and female teachers is
"also shown as well as the class of certificate held:—
Electoral District.
Alberni
Atlin
Cariboo
Chilliwack
Columbia
Comox »■ • • •
Cowichan
Cranbrook ........
Delta
Dewdney
Esquimalt
Fernie
Fort George
Grand Forks ....
Greenwood
(The) Islands
Kamloops
Kaslo
Lillooet
Nanaimo
Nelson
Newcastle
New Westminster.
North Okanagan..
North Vancouver.
Omineca
Prince Rupert....
Revelstoke
Richmond
Rossland
Saanich
Similkameen ....
Slocan
South Okanagan ..
South Vancouver..
Trail
Vancouver City. . .
Victoria City
Yale
Totals (1918-19)
„ .(1917-18)
Academic
10
2
11
3
6
7
5
5
9
3
5
1
2
9
4
7
1
13
10
11
4
4
14
3
8
4
4
10
17
3
135
32
3
376
372
First
Class.
Second
Class.
Third
Class.
Temporary.
Special.
Male.
Female.
6
10
7
6
6
25
2
5
1
3
/
4
2
6
4
1
15
8
28
16
2
3
11
56
1
5
3
8
5
14
8
28
13
7
10
57
5
8
8
2
5
21
4
7
9
4
1
4
27
4
27
23
4
8
57
13
20
21
1
1
9
52
7
10
9
2
6
27
13
17
9
3
9
42
8
7
7
n
12
24
6
4
9
i
4
21
1
5
7
i
4
11
4
10
3
3
6
16
8
28
06
12
14
69
5
7
5
4
7
18
1
4
4
5
2
12
8
18
l2
1
2
6
42
2
10
3
3
6
19
3
20
5
1
4
26
22
30
4
7
19
57
13
25
f'
2
4
10
61
15
25
2l
3
3
16
62
1
4
1
3
1
8
10
16
6
8
2
13
33
5
20
3
2
6
28
15
42
l7
6
22
72
9
4
1
3
14
14
34
8
2
9
57
9
20
5
1
2
10
31
10
10
3
3
10
20 .
6
19
7
5
2
11
38
31
80
27
3
16
34
140
10
23
14
3
1
5
49
126
157
13
6
44
123
358
45
67
16
16
45
131
2
15
12
4
7
29
453
873
388
140
102
486
1,846
463
796
420
80 -
115
436
1,810
Total.
31
10
16
67
19
67
26
31
65
61
33
51
36
25
15
22
83
25
14
48
25
30
76
71
78
9
46
34
94
17
66
41
30
49
174
54
481
176
36
2,332
2,246 A 18
Public Schools Report.
1919
INSPECTORS' REPORTS.
HIGH SCHOOLS.
Victoria, B.C., July 21st, 1919.
Alexander Robinson, Esq.,
•Superintendent of Education, Victoria, B.C.
Sir,—I beg to submit the following report on the high-school work of the Province for the
school-year ending June 30th, 1919:—
During the year new superior schools were established at Howe Sound and Silverton; the
Port Moody superior division was reopened; the Cecil Rhodes Commercial High School in
Vancouver was established; the high school at Salmon Arm was graded; and the superior
school in Langley Municipality raised to the status of a high school and a second division
opened. The attendance at the Matsqui High School fell to thirteen, and as a result the
Trustee Board decided to reduce this to an ungraded school.
Forty-five high schools, with 218 divisions, and sixteen superior schools were in operation
during the year, employing in all 236 teachers, an increase of eighteen teachers over the
preceding year. There was an increase of 656 in the number of pupils enrolled in the. high
schools, the enrolment for the past year being 5,806 for high -schools and 184 for superior
schools. It is worthy of note that eighty-seven pupils enrolled in public schools were receiving
instruction in high-school work. Twenty-nine public schools were attempting high-school
studies, the number of students pursuing such studies in these schools ranging in number from
one to nine. I found it impossible to pay even one visit to all districts, and consequently thirty-
six classes received no inspection.
The work of the high schools was seriously interfered with by the influenza epidemic, many
schools being closed for upwards of two months. Many pupils and teachers suffered from
the disease and were unable to do their best work for weeks after returning to school. The
Education Department, realizing the seriousness of the situation, decided that in fairness to
the pupils a curtailment of the requirements in each subject was necessary; accordingly, the
limits for the different subjects were reduced by from 25 to 33 per cent. The terminal examinations were set on these curtailed limits. Statistics regarding these examinations are given
below:—
Advanced and Full Course, Junior Grade, and Third Class Non
professional.
Intermediate Grade
Third-year Commercial
Third-year Technical
Senior Grade
Senior Academic
Agriculture only
Education only
University Matriculation, Junior
University Matriculation, Senior
Totals
No. of
Candidates.
184
142
12
7
30
5
43
22
868
27
1,340
160
120
11
6
26
4
41
22
502
14
906
No. granted
University
Supplemental
Examination.
203
5
208
Leaving out of consideration those who wrote on Agriculture or Education only, 224
candidates failed completely, a percentage of 17.56. Last year the percentage of failures was
19.63, there being 196 failures out of 998 candidates. 10 Geo. 5 Public Schools Report. A 19
The following statement regarding the number of high-school pupils taking work in special
subjects is rather interesting:—
Agriculture 229
Commercial 870
Manual Training 1,115
Domestic Science 1,290
During the year the technical work at King Edward High School, Vancouver, has prospered.
At the time of my visit there were in operation seven boys' technical classes, enrolling £21
pupils. The Third-year class in operation for the first time had an enrolment of twelve.
Sixteen girls were given a Second-year Course in Home Economics and thirty-six were enrolled
in the First-year class in this course. At the beginning of the school-year the Vancouver School
Board established the Cecil Rhodes Commercial High School with six teachers, and thus
relieved King Edward of its Commercial Department.
Next year it will be necessary to make provision in Vancouver for a Third-year Course m
Home Economics and a Fourth-year Course in Boys' Technical Work.
The Strathcona Trust prizes for excellence in physical drill were awarded as follows:—
First prize—G. Downes, B.Sc, Srd Division, Oak Bay High School.
Second prize—Miss M. Brockwell, B.A., 2nd Division, Armstrong High School.
Third prize—Miss B. Macdonald, B.A., 2nd Division, Nanaimo High School.
The Langley School Board, realizing the benefits which are to be derived from co-operation
and centralization, decided to provide means for conveying to the superior school at Belmont
pupils from the outlying parts of the municipality. As a result this school has prospered to
such an extent that it was found necessary to raise it to the status of a high school and appoint
a second teacher. The Education Department contributed the usual grant towards the cost
of transportation. In all probability the Surrey School Board will follow the example set by
Langley, and will thus make Cloverdale a real municipal high school. At least two rural
municipalities of the Province, on account of the unwillingness of the people to centralize, have
established in place of one central high school two or three superior schools. These continue
ta exist, but the attendance is decreasing and the interest waning each yrear. It is most
regrettable that local jealousies should be the means of robbing children of a course of training
which might fit them for the highest possibilities of citizenship, and should prevent the parents
from awakening to a full realization of the importance of. developing aright child-life, the real
value of which has been so enhanced and increased since 1914.
The changes in the Course of Instruction which became operative at the beginning of the
school-year seem to have met with the approval of teachers and parents. A considerable
number of Preliminary pupils have taken advantage of the opportunity granted them of
substituting science for one foxeign language. Of the schools which I inspected, about 21 per
cent, of the Preliminary pupils chose science, 63 per cent. Latin, and 66 per cent. French.
The Council of Public Instruction has authorized the following changes in the Course of
Study for high schools for the school-year 1919-20:—
(1.) Preliminary students who wish to substitute science for one foreign language may
select either the text-book in use during the past year or the Course in General Science as
outlined by Caldwell & Eikenberry.
(2.) Pupils of the Advanced Course, Junior Grade, in place of the physics and chemistry
at present prescribed will select either Cornish's High School Chemistry or Merchant & Chant's
High School Physics. Only a part of each of these texts is to be covered in the Advanced
Course, the pupils continuing with the same texts in their third year. Pupils who chose the
science option in their first year should continue the language already chosen and take both the
scences mentioned above. Agriculture may be substituted for physics or for chemistry.
(3.) The Two-year Course in Agriculture which was formerly given in the first and second
years will in future be begun in the second year.
(4.) Senior Grade pupils will be expected to cover Parts IV., V., and VI. of Hall & Stevens'
School Geometry in place of Euclid.
The big question of the year, so far as our high schools are concerned, has been the
revision of the Academic Course of Study which has been under discussion for a considerable
time. This question has taken longer than was expected; hence the reason for the delay in
putting into effect certain changes foreshadowed in my report of last year; but it is now A 20 Public Schools Report. 1919
expected that the complete revised course will be in operation in September, 1920. In the
consideration of this question the Education Office had the assistance of high-school teachers
and members of the Faculty of the University of British Columbia. These men put their best
thought into the work and gave their time unsparingly. Many Saturdays which could with
difficulty be spared from school duties were devoted to this task. The members of the
committee are richly deserving of the thanks of all those who have at heart the interests of
our high-school pupils. It would be ungrateful to pass by in silence the many teachers who
voluntarily offered suggestions, which the committee found most valuable. The members of
the committee sought help from all teachers with whom they came in contact, and the High
School Inspector made it a point to take up this question in all schools visited during the
second term.
English.—In the study of English a greater proportion of interesting narrative poems in
the first two years would add to the interest. One of the lighter plays of Shakespeare might
well be required of second-year pupils. The present text-book in composition is a good one, but
a strong objection to it as a high-school text is found in the fact that the pupils were
introduced to it in the Senior Grade of the Public School Course. One or two novels for
supplementary reading in both Preliminary and Advanced Junior years are necessary. These
novels should not be studied intensively, but the teachers will find them of great assistance in
teaching form and style, and through them the pupils will be given a taste for good reading.
The course will still require—and rightly so—a very considerable amount of intensive study
in connection with English literature. Many of our teachers of English have the mistaken
idea that they are not doing their duty in connection with the study of Ivanhoe, for example,
unless they submit each page to the most minute analysis. These books for supplementary
reading should be read carefully, but the attention of the pupils should not be so fixed on
details that they fail to appreciate the main purpose and beauty of the work. One of our
teachers of English has made the following statement in this connection: " If a general change
might be suggested, it is sometimes felt that a much wider field of English literature might
be covered with less requirement for detailed study. The scope of English literature is so
great that much more generous assignments might be profitably made. As an appreciation of
literature is, after all, an understanding of its spirit and purpose, its relation to its own time
and its application to ours, it would appear that insistence on its minute disintegration and
examination is subversive to the primary purpose of literary study."
In at least two schools last year physiology was taken by the second-year students as one
of the regular subjects of the course. It was never intended that this subject should be
selected by students who intend finishing their High School Course., It is to be taken as a
regular subject only by those pupils who wish to pass the Third-class Non-professional Examination without foreign languages.
The fact that twenty-nine public schools are giving instruction in high-school subjects
emphasizes a problem which is crying for solution. Many public schools situated in districts
where no high or superior school is available are each year sending up pupils who successfully
pass the High School Entrance Examination, but as there is no high school in their vicinity
they are perforce compelled to leave school permanently, although no doubt many of them
are anxious to take a High School Course.
During the school-year 1917-18 the Education Department made several important changes
in connection with high-school examinations, one of which was the doing away with the High
School Entrance Examination in cities of the first and second class. I have no hesitation in
saying that my inspection of the high schools during the year has forced me to the conclusion
that this was a mistake. Many pupils came into high school at the beginning of the year just
closed totally unfit to grapple with the high-school subjects. Instead of a kindness it is doing
an injustice to such pupils to send them to high school. If they do not drop out during the
first few months they merely limp through their course, and the probability is will never make
citizens strong in brain and spirit. Not only do these pupils get little benefit themselves, but
because of them the other members of the class are robbed of the opportunity of getting the
maximum of benefit from their course. I do not think it advisable to ask all Entrance pupils
to write an examination. Possibly the best pupils, say 50 per cent, of the class, might be
passed on the recommendation of their teacher. This plan would be an incentive to good work
during the term, as all pupils would be anxious to be placed in the top half of the class. In 10 Geo. 5 Public Schools Report. A 21
my opinion the best Entrance teachers and fully 75 per cent, of the total number prefer that
their pupils be given a test by skilled men who have no direct responsibility for the student's
teaching, wfiile the high-school teachers are practically a unit in favour of an examination
before pupils are admitted to high school. Pupils who cannot pass the Entrance Examination
of this Province are certainly not in a position to do the work required of them in high school.
President Hadley, of Yale University, has the following to say regarding the subject of"
examinations: " An examination paper set by a man who knows his business, and preferably
not by the teacher himself is the most potent method of getting the pupils to do as much as
possible of the work themselves instead of leaving it wholly to the teacher. Such examinations
give rise to as keen a competition as ever existed on a football field or the river and make
study a dominant interest with good students instead of an incidental one. The College Board
examinations in this country with all their faults have had a decided effect in making pupils
in preparatory schools take an active responsibility for their work. When our colleges have
offered to accept certificates on some subjects and require examinations on others, the chief
objection has come from teachers of the subjects where we were ready to accept certificates.
They have said frankly that this would constitute a discrimination against them, because the
pupil would do all his work on the subjects in which he was going to be examined."
While the above remarks were applied to high-school and university students, they apply
with almost equal force to pupils entering high school.
I have, etc.,
J. B. DeLong,
Inspector of High Schools.
INSPECTORATE No. 1.
Victoria, B.C., October 31st, 1919.
Alexander Robinson, Esq.,
Superintendent of Education, Victoria, B.C.
Sir,—I beg to submit the following report on the schools of Inspectorate No. 1 for the
school-year ending June 30th, 1919:—-
At the end of the school-year the number of public schools in operation in this inspectorial
district was fifty-eight. Of this number, thirty-seven were in the Municipalities of Alberni,
Courtenay, Cumberland, Port Alberni, Victoria, and Saanich, and twenty-one were of rural or
assisted classification. Seventeen schools were ungraded and twelve were of two divisions;
in the City of Victoria seven of the nineteen schools were composed of Junior Grade pupils only.
The number of teachers engaged was 243, but of this number seven were manual-training
instructors, six were domestic-science instructors, and four were supervisors.
Owing to the epidemic of influenza many of the schools were closed for a considerable period
of time, and for this reason it was impossible to inspect all within the year; the rural and
smaller city schools were given chief attention, and while, with three exceptions, all the schools
in the City of Victoria were inspected, the time devoted to each room was not as great as that
given to those not under municipal inspection.
All the schools in this district are so favourably situated that the trustees seldom experience
much difficulty in procuring the services of certificated teachers; but the rural districts can
very rarely retain the services of their teachers for a longer period than one year. Generally,
too, the teachers going into these rural districts are young and inexperienced, and, while they
perform the duties of their office in a conscientious manner, they are seldom an influence in
the life of the community.
With few exceptions the school buildings throughout the district are good; two buildings
in Victoria should be replaced with others of newer design, and Courtenay needs a newer and
larger building. In the rural sections the buildings are all comparatively new and well planned,
with satisfying conditions as to light and ventilation; but hygienic conditions are seldom
satisfactory in these schools owing to the difficulty experienced by the trustees in securing the
services of janitors who will take an interest in the work of maintaining cleanliness in and
around the school houses, and in seeing that the rooms are well warmed by the time that the
children arrive in the morning. A 22 Public Schools Report. 1919
Little was done during the year towards beautifying the school-grounds, and very few rural
schools reported school-gardens. The reason for this is not far to seek; the trustees look to
the teacher for advice in these matters, and the teacher has already decided to leave the district
by the time the garden should be begun; her interest in the school is waning. As the teachers
graduate from the Normal School with a knowledge of gardening, I believe it advisable to make
'the school-garden compulsory, for under the present optional plan very few of our migratory
teachers will interest themselves sufficiently in the matter. The Saanich schools are well
advanced in school-gardening, and the more experienced teachers are gradually co-ordinating
it with other studies; some of the Victoria schools continued their interest in this subject.
Better results would be attainable in our rural schools if the teachers cultivated the habit
of consulting with the trustees with regard to the physical requirements of the school. The
teacher is too often content* to carry on with whatever material happens to be in the school-
house when she takes charge; when this is sufficient in variety and quantity advantage is
taken of it, but the trustees are seldom asked to replace exhausted material, and while, for
this reason, the work suffers throughout, the Manual Arts are almost entirely neglected. The
trustees are usually willing to provide all necessary supplies, and the teacher should realize
that it is her duty to inform them of the physical requirements of the school, that these may
be supplied in sufficient time for the school to receive the fullest benefit from them.
While the schools were closed owing to the epidemic of influenza, many of the teachers, thus
relieved from their regular duties, rendered valuable service in the homes and the hospitals by
administering to the needs of those stricken by the disease. Few had received training for the
work, and the moral courage shown by those teachers in volunteering their services at that
time is to be commended. Two teachers thus engaged—Miss Westwood, of George Jay School,
Victoria, and Mrs. Darbyshire, of Tolmie School, Saanich—contracted the disease and succumbed
to its effects; both women were appreciated for their sterling qualities and their loss was
deeply felt by their schools and by thei